Redevelopment may end within days

Legislature to act on budget plan that includes ending agencies

Downtown San Diego has blossomed into a vibrant urban center in the past 35 years since redevelopment took root. However, tenant demand has shifted to North County and UTC office markets and downtown landlords hope to attract new interest from tech-savvy and creative-services companies whose employees like the urban feel.
— File photo-UT

Downtown San Diego has blossomed into a vibrant urban center in the past 35 years since redevelopment took root. However, tenant demand has shifted to North County and UTC office markets and downtown landlords hope to attract new interest from tech-savvy and creative-services companies whose employees like the urban feel.
/ File photo-UT

The state's 425 redevelopment agencies may have only days left to live as the result of the budget bill nearing final legislative action in Sacramento.

The Senate-Assembly budget conference committee voted Thursday to dissolve the agencies and forwarded its recommendation to both houses, which expect to act by March 10.

The measure is linked to plans for a June 7 statewide election to extend tax increases to help erase a $26 billion state budget deficit. Redevelopment is counted on to cover $1.7 billion of the shortfall.

The immediate impact on billions of dollars of redevelopment projects, present and proposed, remains murky.

"I think everything is in jeopardy," San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said Friday.

He said he is in touch with other big-city mayors in hopes of coming up with a strategy that might head off full legislative approval.

The California Redevelopment Association urged its members to call legislators and ask them to keep the program going.

A Senate finance committee staff member said the conference committee voted to:

Under the bill, all present debt payments, contracts and "enforceable obligations" would remain in place, but approvals of new projects since Jan. 1 would be subject to legal review to determine their validity.

Locally that includes more than $4 billion in present and future redevelopment projects covered in a cooperation agreement approved by the San Diego City Council last Monday. Similar measures have been passed up and down the state.

Such a review could call into question the $29 million funding, also passed Monday, for the first phase of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, which the California Coastal Commission is scheduled to consider next month.

There are also a new downtown $17 million fire station and $616,000 off-leash dog park approved the same day.

But with redevelopment's future in doubt, whether the Legislature kills it or not, city planners say they are following business as usual.

"We're continuing to work on all projects and priorities as we would normally until someone tell us otherwise," said Jennifer Davies, spokeswoman for the Centre City Development Corp.

CCDC oversees downtown redevelopment for the city and would not be terminated under the state legislation. But its money comes from redevelopment funds and would naturally have to go out of business unless it is contracted to carry on projects not terminated by the legislation.

The same thing goes for the Southeastern Economic Development Corp., which oversees projects southeast of downtown. Other city redevelopment efforts -- from Clairemont to Linda Vista to San Ysidro -- are handled by a city redevelopment department.

Other downtown projects that could be in doubt are a new homeless shelter passed Tuesday; the recent shifting of bond payments for Petco Park from the city; and a proposed debt expense shift for the San Diego Convention Center and planning funds for the proposed $750 million expansion.